Shloka 35
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
वीक्षमाणो वनोद्देशं नानासत्त्वैर्निषेवितम् । अपश्यत महाबाहुर्न्यग्रोधं वायसैर्युतम्,नाना प्रकारके जीव-जन्तुओंसे सेवित वनस्थलीका निरीक्षण करते हुए महाबाहु अश्व॒ृत्थामाने कौओंसे भरे हुए वटवृक्षपर दृष्टिपात किया
vīkṣamāṇo vanoddeśaṃ nānāsattvair niṣevitam | apaśyata mahābāhur nyagrodhaṃ vāyasair yutam ||
قال سنجيا: بينما كان أشوَتّاما، ذو الساعدين الجبارين، يتفحّص ناحيةً من الغابة تؤمّها شتّى الكائنات، أبصر شجرةَ بانيان مكتظّةً بالغربان. وفي السكون المشؤوم الذي يعقب الحرب، بدا هذا المنظر علامةَ افتراسٍ ونذيرَ شؤم، كأنّ الطبيعة نفسها تعكس ظلمةَ الأدهرما التي توشك أن تهبط مع الليل.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a natural image—crows massed on a banyan in a forest alive with many creatures—to foreshadow predatory, night-bound action. In the ethical frame of the Sauptika episode, such omens underscore how violence pursued in darkness and rage tends toward adharma, even when carried out by renowned warriors.
Sañjaya describes Aśvatthāmā moving through and observing a forest area. While scanning the surroundings, he spots a banyan tree filled with crows—an atmospheric detail that sets the scene and signals the grim events that will follow in the night.